On the Sources and Implications of Carnap’s Der Raum

Der Raum marks a transitional stage in Carnap’s thought, and therefore has both negative and positive implications for his further development. On the one hand, he is here largely a follower of Husserl, and a correct understanding of that background is important if one wants to understand what it is that he later rejects as “metaphysics.” On the other hand, he has already broken with Husserl in certain ways, in part following other authors. His use of Hans Driesch’s Ordnungslehre, in particular, foreshadows the theme of so-called “voluntarism” which will characterize his later thought. Carnap’s first publication, Der Raum, remains relevant to controversies which continue today. Carnap’s position is technically unpolished, but perhaps still to be taken seriously: in particular, as I will point out below, it resists classification according to the conventionalist/empiricist split which pervades discussions of general relativity. My own interest, however, is more in what this work reveals about Carnap’s background and subsequent development. In this respect, Der Raum marks a transitional stage, and therefore has both negative and positive implications. On the negative side, Carnap’s later thought is based on the rejection of a traditional philosophical background, associated with “metaphysics.” To understand him, then, we need a correct understanding of just what is being rejected, and Der Raum, coming before the anti-metaphysical turn, can supply exactly that. To this end I will argue that the transition begins with Husserlian phenomenology: Carnap here is a follower of Husserl. It is Husserl’s position, then, which he will soon reject as metaphysical. On the positive side, however, $Id: raum.tex,v 4.14 2008/07/07 00:04:34 abestone Exp abestone $ Der Raum: Ein Beitrag zur Wissenschaftslehre, Kant-Studien Ergänzungshefte 56 (Berlin: Reuther and Reichard, 1922). The importance of Husserl in Der Raum has been recognized, first, by Carnap himself (Reply to Grünbaum, in The Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap, ed. P.A. Schilpp [La Salle, IL: